It was the departed hours of the night, where even the most dedicated business suits were hung up in a closet and the individual who wore it lounged in bed, unwinding the day's labor to oblivion. Gloomy storm clouds were beginning to form, but downfall was delayed by a force unknown to Reno.

"Probably waiting until I step outside..." he muttered bitterly to himself as he glanced through the spotless glass separating him and fresh air. Resting his shoes with dried mud caked to them, on the desk, his mind began wandering beyond work issues.

Reno was the last person left in the office of Rufus Shin-Ra's mansion, required to stay behind to finish a report which he promised to give to Rufus the next morning. Though he hated doing handout work, he did love his job and the hate he would feel after being fired out-weighed the hate he felt for sitting in front of a computer screen racking his brain on those tiny details he paid no attention to. Therefore, he took the so-called abuse without a peep.

Despite most opinions of what was left of Shin-Ra employees, Reno loved to be out in the field; seeing and touching things with his bare hands. To him, it was more desireable than any pen and paper could ever prove to him. He liked being the person discovering and delivering noteworthy information to headquarters, rather than the one sitting around waiting to analyze what the gallant brought to the table. It was just his style, which he was rather proud of to say the least.

He was the only Turk that taboo'd the idea of appearing flawless and professional. With his umtamed red hair protruding out of a disheveled ponytail, wrinkled jacket and chinos, dress shirt sloppilly untucked and draping out in ruffles and last of all: the shoes. The shoes he never took the time to neaten or shine. For, needless to say, Reno was one to take the road less traveled. Stopping for aimless devoirs was alwasys avoidable to him.

But in this case, he made an acception.

Just as his mind was at the brink of dozing off, responsibility snapped him back to the land of the living. Or the land of the awake. He dropped his legs to the floor and slid them under the desk as he pulled himself closer, "Okay, back to work!" he coaxed.

One and a half productive hours later, Reno hit print and then admired his immaculate work. He held it parallel to his face as if staring it down, then he threw it onto the desk, along with a million other documents. He jumped to his feet to stretch and to bust out in an immodest victory dance with himself. Suddenly, going home to his grungy apartment never sounded so melodic. But first, he had to pee.

He half walked, half frisked down the hallway until he reached the empty restroom. The lights were shut off, but after a few seconds of instinctively groping the wall for the switch, he chose the farthest urinal from the door. His pants were unzipped and his free arm held the wall in front of him the way a drunk man would to keep his balance all in one motion.

He sighed and tossed his head back. He presumed that while he was completing all that hard work, he forgot to stop for a bathroom break. For the moment, he was in heaven.

Reno finished with his business, moving toward a sink right away to wash his hands. He began humming casually to fill the silent areas of the room, which he was really beginning to either appreciate or despise. After drying off, he peered into the mirror at himself. Exhausted aqua eyes shone back at him, pleading for slumber. Lowering his gaze onto a coffee stain on his otherwise clean, white shirt. Coffee, that wasn't even his. He grumbled remembering the morning's events. Letting out a fathomless sigh, he rambled through the doorway and back to his desk.

When he arrived, his whole body began bobbing with exhaustion. He began to shape funny expressions with his face and rubbed his cheeks and eyes with his hands to subside his drowsiness. Looking down to pack up, Reno discovered a pink piece of paper folded into a small square atop the report he had just finished. Not remembering placing such a thing there, nor having a pink paper in the first place triggered him to unfold the card on the spot.

It read with gentle handwriting:

My dearest Reno,

I know that work is very hard. It must be difficult for you to put up with it every single day. I bet your "superiors" don't know how wonderful you really are. They probably take you for granted. But don't give up! You're the best! Even if they don't admit it, I will always know you are. Everything about you is perfect. You're flawless. I hate it when bad things happen to you. Because bad things make you frown. Even if there's nothing wrong about your frowning face, I would just much rather see your smile. So, smile, Reno. For me. For the next time we cross paths. Your smile always brightens my day. No matter how much shit has happened to me, your smile erases it all. I can't wait to see you again tomorrow.

P.S.
The bitch who spilled her coffee on you this morning should pay severely.
Don't worry, she'll get what's coming.

Reno looked around slightly freaked out, but remained calm on the outside. From left to right, to behind him, to back towards the bathroom, there was no sign of anyone, besides him in the ample room. Which didn't say much; there were plenty of desks and chairs and shadows to hide in and behind. He decided to continue packing up his reports and notes into his messenger bag and to get the hell out and away from the building, keeping his nightstick in hand, just in case.

Reno had never had a stalker before; he had no clue on how to manage the situation so he just took the defensive. If he was attacked, he would defend himself...with deadly force.

He made his way out of the office, surveying his surroundings every now and then to see if he could spot whoever left the mysterious note. Finally reaching the exit, he turned back to examine the room one last time and then moved backward to push the door to the hallway open. Slowly exhaling, he backed into the dim-lit space and bumped into something alive. "YAAHH!!!" yelped Reno, as he jumped back holding his weapon up to ward off his possible stalker. After his adrenaline stilled, he realized the person he bumped into was a fellow Turk.

"Tseng!?" Reno yipped, then attempted to collect himself, "What are you doing here?"

Tseng looked slightly annoyed with being jostled, but knew better than to start trouble out of something so trivial. He exhaled slowly and then brushed his jacket off, "What are YOU doing here?" he asked, sounding a little more irate than he would have hoped. Tseng was usually the lucky one who got to watch over Rufus' abode while he was out. Which usually meant living the luxurious life for one day at least.

Reno stared dumbly, a feeling of surrealism coming over him all at once. He pointed to the door to the office, "I was..." he began to trail off, but snapped back, "A report. The one that was due tomorrow." Tseng looked at him suspiciously, but nodded in approval. Reno went on, feeling there was more to be said, "I'm done with it now." he paused, about to say something and then changed his mind, "I'm heading home now so..." and then he moved past his superior and was walking down the stairs. His head was spinning, he was so sleepy.